On the fourth day of our workshop, Tom took us to Etla, a little town in the hills. They were having a mercado, where we snapped lots of pictures. The women in particular were very winsome, most of the older women had two long braids with ribbons braided into their hair and then connecting at the bottom (in a U shape). This kept their hair out of their work.
I had the opportunity to try a sapote, a tropical fruit that I have never seen in Seattle. A nice woman carrying a huge basket of them cut one in half just so that we can buy lots of different fruit to try. Imagine more than a dozen banana varieties!
In San Agustin, we painted inside of a courtyard in monochrome. Then as the day got long, we were outside of a church where the unique available (natural) light made this white church look both pink and blue depending on where you looked. I did my best to paint it, but I was pretty frustrated. Among other things, as the sun moved, the colors changed… very quickly.
One response to “Tom Hoffmann workshop, San Agustin”
The courtyard painting looks really interesting – you captured something evocative in it.
The other painting – one can see your frustration in – but also the fleeting charm that the light had with the pink and blues… I wonder how the “masters” did it back in the day before digital color cameras – that could “freeze” something long enough to paint? I think they just went back to the scene day after day… until they got what they wanted. Patience. 🙂